The Magnificent FrigatebirdBy Ada LimónIs it okay to begin with the obvious? I am full of stones— is it okay not to look out this window, but...LoveDesire & PassionNatureAnimalsSeas, Rivers, & StreamsActivitiesTravels & JourneysStanza FormsCoupletMetersFree VerseTechniquesMetaphorSimileJoy & Contentment + 8 more
Calling Things What They AreBy Ada LimónI pass the feeder and yell, Grackle party! And then an hour later I yell, Mourning dove afterparty! (I call the feeder the...LoveHeartache & LossRomantic LoveNatureAnimalsLivingComing of AgeMidlifeThe MindMemory & NostalgiaTime & BrevityRelationshipsMen & WomenMetersFree VerseTechniquesConfessionalImageryMetaphorSimileTypes/ModesProse PoemJoy & Contentment + 16 more
Cyrus & the SnakesBy Ada LimónMy brother holds a snake by its head. The whole length of the snake is the length of my brother’s body...NatureAnimalsLivingComing of AgeLife ChoicesYouthThe MindMemory & NostalgiaRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsStanza FormsCoupletMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryMetaphor + 10 more
GratitudeBy Cornelius EadyI’m here to tell you an old story. ThisAppears to be my work. I live in the world,Walk the streets of...Social CommentariesClassRace & EthnicityLivingLife ChoicesThe MindRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsActivitiesSchool & LearningArts & SciencesPoetry & PoetsMetersFree VerseTechniquesAnaphoraConfessionalMetaphorAngerGratitude + 13 more
I’m a Fool to Love YouBy Cornelius EadySome folks will tell you the blues is a woman,Some type of supernatural creature.My mother would tell...LoveBreak-ups & Vexed LoveRealistic & ComplicatedSocial CommentariesGender & SexualityRace & EthnicityLivingMarriage & CompanionshipRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsMen & WomenArts & SciencesMusicMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryMetaphor + 11 more
Mrs. Butterworth, Uncle Ben & Aunt JemimaBy Frank X. Walker...walk into a bar in America. Butterworth says, I’m being repackaged. Ben says, I’m being rebranded...Social CommentariesPopular CultureRace & EthnicityHistory & PoliticsRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsActivitiesEating & DrinkingStanza FormsMixedMetersFree VerseTechniquesAllusionImageryMetaphor + 9 more
The Bug WranglerHe was jailed for cruelty to insects, and his agent wasn’t answering the phone, so he stayed awake in...NatureAnimalsSocial CommentariesCrime & PunishmentLivingLife ChoicesActivitiesJobs & WorkingArts & SciencesPhotography & FilmTechniquesImageryMetaphorPersonaTypes/ModesProse PoemAnxiety & InsecurityBlame + 11 more
Self-Portrait as David LynchBy David RoderickI wear a flower in my lapel. I like the sweetness of its lie in my nose. A carnation, the fool’s flower...Social CommentariesPopular CultureLivingThe MindActivitiesJobs & WorkingArts & SciencesPhotography & FilmStanza FormsTercetMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryMetaphorPersonaTypes/ModesDramatic MonologueJoy & Contentment + 12 more
Crip vs. CripBy Walela NehandaCrip (noun): slang for a disabled person/the whole of the disabled community/ a school of thought Example...LoveDesire & PassionSocial CommentariesCities & Urban LifeRace & EthnicityLivingHealth & IllnessSorrow & GrievingThe BodyRelationshipsFriends & EnemiesStanza FormsMixedMetersFree VerseTechniquesAllusionConfessionalMetaphorRefrainGrief + 14 more
XLIX. ("its a secrete")By Jos Charles its a secrete the grls speeching mye hole / inn 2 the lindens / wee go out & playe footballe / verie...Social CommentariesGender & SexualityLivingComing of AgeYouthRelationshipsFriends & EnemiesActivitiesVerse FormsSonnetMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryMetaphorTypes/ModesSeries/SequenceAnxiety & InsecurityDisappointment + 12 more
Into the WeedsBy Kevin PruferThe brutality of those two men who broke into her apartment and murdered her boyfriend, then, as she...Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentLivingComing of AgeDeathSorrow & GrievingThe MindMemory & NostalgiaRelationshipsFriends & EnemiesActivitiesSchool & LearningArts & SciencesPhotography & FilmMetersFree VerseTechniquesConfessionalImageryMetaphorTypes/ModesElegyGrief + 16 more
I Have Wasted My LifeBy Justin Phillip ReedThere it goes, thin thing, cheshiring between trees whose reaper-robes trail their trains deep underground...Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityLivingDeathThe MindMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryMetaphorSimileGrief + 5 more
Can You Describe Your Years in Prison?By Aria AberOver Skype, I try to document my mother’s bald-shaved youth—she has a surplus in truths, and science...Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentWar & ConflictRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsMythology & FolkloreGreek & Roman MythologyMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryMetaphorSimile + 6 more
To a Wreath of SnowBy Emily BrontëO transient voyager of heaven! O silent sign of winter skies! What adverse wind thy sail has driven...NatureWinterLandscapes & PastoralsWeatherSocial CommentariesCrime & PunishmentReligionThe SpiritualLivingTime & BrevityStanza FormsQuatrainMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryMetaphorTypes/ModesOdeGratitude + 13 more
p1A Bell Is a Bearer of TimeBy Alison C. RollinsI am a product of my time. Time is a body that resembles a sound without a scale. Forever foreclosed...Social CommentariesGender & SexualityRace & EthnicityThe BodyArts & SciencesReading & BooksMetersFree VerseTechniquesAllusionImageryMetaphorTypes/ModesConcrete or Pattern Poetry + 7 more
Bollywood ConfabulationBy Rajiv MohabirLook at your feet, so beautiful. Do not step on the ground, filth will smear them; your future will ...LoveDesire & PassionLivingThe BodyRelationshipsMen & WomenArts & SciencesPhotography & FilmVerse FormsSonnetStanza FormsCoupletMetersFree VerseTechniquesEpigraphImageryMetaphor + 11 more
The Republic of MotherhoodBy Liz BerryI crossed the border into the Republic of Motherhoodand found it a queendom, a wild queendom.I handed...Social CommentariesGender & SexualityLivingBirth & BirthdaysHealth & IllnessParenthoodThe BodyTime & BrevityRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryMetaphor + 8 more
On the Fifth DayBy Jane HirshfieldOn the fifth day the scientists who studied the rivers were forbidden to speak or to study the rivers...NatureLandscapes & PastoralsTrees & FlowersSeas, Rivers, & StreamsSocial CommentariesArts & SciencesSciencesStanza FormsMixedMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryMetaphor + 7 more
ErysichthonBy OvidSome are transformed just once And live their whole lives after in that shape. Others have a facility...LoveDesire & PassionNatureTrees & FlowersSocial CommentariesCrime & PunishmentGender & SexualityLivingDeathLife ChoicesSorrow & GrievingThe BodyRelationshipsFriends & EnemiesMen & WomenMythology & FolkloreGreek & Roman MythologyTechniquesAllusionMetaphorTypes/ModesEpic + 15 more
JawsBy Emma HineI don’t realize I’m starved for the color until the blood washes up on the beach. I’m craving red but...LoveDesire & PassionNatureStars, Planets, HeavensSeas, Rivers, & StreamsLivingThe BodyArts & SciencesPhotography & FilmStanza FormsCoupletMetersFree VerseTechniquesMetaphor + 8 more